


Taken in Vain

by jyorraku



Category: The Expanse (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-22
Updated: 2017-04-22
Packaged: 2018-10-22 18:15:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10702437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jyorraku/pseuds/jyorraku
Summary: Names have meaning.Spoilers for 2x13 Caliban's War.





	Taken in Vain

Cotyar kept his pace nearly steady, though he could feel the deathly pallor of his own face like a clammy mask. The Martian's power armor came with a rudimentary sealant so at the very least he wasn’t bleeding out anymore. Finding out whether he was hemorrhaging internally wasn’t as much a priority as it was a to-be-determined luxury, given that he was on a vessel filled with people intent on murdering him and his charge.

Madam's spine remained straight as a cane stalk; by a surprising strength if not by the simple necessity of their height difference as she supported him whilst following the Martian. Their motley crew was traversing through the gleaming antiseptic corridors, heading towards the shuttle dock in the hope that Mao’s minion wasn’t lying when he said there was another ship there.

His mind began to wander as the Martian went through the obstacles before them like a hot knife through butter. He was a spy, and by the nature of intelligence gathering, there were always bits of information that he knew were irrelevant. But as they tore through the belly of the opulent ship, he became oddly aware of two things: The tight and determined grip of Avasarala’s hand on the hand of the man who failed her son, and the halo on the helmet of Draper’s suit, a beacon of light through treacherous waters.

As they reached the shuttle dock, he spotted a smooth glowing plaque displaying the name of the space yacht they were currently alighting in ornate calligraphy:

 _Guanshiyin_.

He knew he wasn’t in a good state to laugh, but his body filled with the warmth of mirth. Even if he didn’t make it out of this alive, at least he knew that there was one axiom he could trust in this seemingly indifferent and chaotic universe.

Jules-Pierre Mao will die by the hands of his own hubris.

**Author's Note:**

> Guanshiyin is also known as Guanyin: "(in Chinese Buddhism) the goddess of compassion." -- Oxford Dictionary.


End file.
